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Influential Blacks Eye Fresh Opportunities

Obama backers stand to gain status in wake of historic victory

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 6, 2008 9:58 AM CST

(Newser) – A circle of black power brokers who helped Barack Obama in his rise to the White House are ready to see their influence grow under his administration, Wall Street Journal reports. The close-knit group of fundraisers, execs, and Harvard grads believe their presidential connections will pay major dividends in the worlds of business and government. Some are already angling for top jobs in Washington.

Many may be disappointed, as Obama is said to be planning to limit the number of African Americans in his cabinet to avoid charges of favoritism, but influential blacks say they have already noticed a subtle shift in how they are treated in the haunts of America's elite. "No one is quite sure who you are," said one Harvard professor and Obama fundraiser. "Now the assumption is you might know the next president of the United States."

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Senior foreign policy adviser Susan Rice. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Valerie Jarrett, top adviser to Barack Obama, speaks to reporters prior to the start of the Democratic National Convention in August. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A vendor sells a copy of the London 'Times' featuring Barack Obama on the cover outside the US embassy in London. (Getty Images)

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These black executives see a window of opportunity for themselves. Obama being elected president shatters the last glass ceiling. - Peniel Joseph, a black professor of political science at Brandeis University

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Influential Blacks Eye Fresh Opportunities